No one is coming to save you

I am exhausted of writing about terrorist attacks, but they keep happening. And they continue to be relevant to our local self-defense situations here in the states. The most attack in Turkey focused on something that we’ve known forever is a soft target: the unsecure area of airports.

Image courtesy SecuritySales.Com

“But Caleb” you’ll say, “we can’t carry into airports!” Yeah, I know. That’s a real tricky situation right there, although I’d also be the first to tell you that a 9mm isn’t going to be a whole lot of help against someone clacking off a vest with no warning. However, that’s not the point.

The point is this: no one is coming to save you if it does go down. If that’s the one thing that we can learn from all these attacks, it’s that you are your own first responder. I hit this drum after Paris and after Orlando, and I’ll keep hitting it. Get your skills up. Get your hand to hand skills, your medical skills, and your shooting skills up.

No one is going to save you, but you could save yourself. And if your skills are good, you might even save the person next to you. Maybe not with your gun, but maybe with that tourniquet you carry.

Excellent post, Caleb. I would add that it is not right wing craziness to tell people that they need to be prepared. Heck, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission wrote the same thing in their report (page 323 and available for free online). The point is for folks to stop thinking that this law or that LEO will save them. In many cases, people need to be prepared (mindset, awareness, first aid, etc).

“The lesson of 9/11 for civilians and first responders can be stated simply: in the new age of terror,they—we—are the primary targets.The losses America suffered that day demonstrated both the gravity of the terrorist threat and the commensurate need to prepare ourselves to meet it. The first responders of today live in a world transformed by the attacks on 9/11. Because no one believes that every conceivable form of attack can be prevented, civilians and first responders will again find themselves on the front lines. We must plan for that eventuality. A rededication to preparedness is perhaps the best way to honor the memories of those we lost that day.”